Q&A With Our NBS President

We’re thrilled to sit down with DeeAnn Wenger, president of Nelnet Business Services, to learn more about her leadership and outlook for the company.

I’m in several meetings per day ranging from 3-4 on a slower day to 9-10 meetings on a busy day. I block one day a week where I do not accept meetings (it doesn’t always work) in order to have more focused time to work on bigger projects and business strategy. Otherwise I rely heavily on my to-do list. My list is color-coded by deadlines, which allows me to plan times during the week when I need to work on certain projects.

Professionally, the best decision I’ve made is to constantly challenge myself to learn something new – either in the industry or to improve my overall leadership.

Personally – to share our faith with our three sons.

I wanted to be a veterinarian as long as I can remember, but I did not enjoy chemistry in high school at all. I loved math and my business classes and decided to study finance in college. After college, I worked in banking and wealth management before joining Nelnet in 2012.

I am constantly reading books on leadership and listening to podcasts on the subject. I recommend all books by Patrick Lencioni, he is my favorite business author.  Also, the Extraordinary Coach by John Zenger and Kathleen Stinnett, and BOOM! by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg.

1. Be in charge of your own professional growth and challenge yourself to develop new skills.
2. Find a good mentor.
3. Exceed expectations in your current role and take on more responsibility.

Balance in life fluctuates constantly. There is no secret formula to achieving balance in your life. Be in tune to your priorities, both at work and with your personal life, and determine where you are needed most that day or hour.

Our associates have a passion around promoting strong education options for the families we serve and providing outstanding customer service. We care about our customers, and we care about each other. You can feel it inside our company.

We focus on supporting education in a variety of ways and adapting new technologies to benefit students, teachers, administrators, and parents. With the pace of change and disruption in the market, we are excited about the opportunities to grow and continue to add value to those we serve.

*DeeAnn Wenger is the President of  Nelnet Business Services which includes Nelnet Campus Commerce, FACTS and Nelnet Payment Services. This article was originally posted here.